Another blockbusting Strictly season for the BBC sees S+H working with BAFTA Award winning set and scenic designer Patrick Doherty - a regular client - for whom the Ilfracombe, Devon-based company is supplying around 6000 Pea-Lights for the regular weekly episodes broadcast from Entree Studios. The Pea-Lights are integrated into the set walls of Patrick's impressive ballroom design, together with 1000 square metres of rich red velvet starcloth also from S+H's stock.
To replicate this look for the Blackpool special edition of the series - staged at the word famous Tower Ballroom - another 400ft of Pea-light strings were supplied, along with 400 ft of plum coloured velvet drape, for masking stage and set elements.
S+H has now been supplying the Strictly phenomenon with specialist drapes and starcloth products for eight years as the series continues to soar in popularity.
The Christmas show includes a large ribbon containing 1000 S+H lights, to add some Christmas lights to the effect.
Get Your Act Together is a new ITV talent concept being recorded at London Studios on the South Bank, again designed by Patrick Doherty. A cast of celebrities will revisit talents they possessed before they became famous, tutored in their chosen skill by a star-studded team of trainers attempting to rekindle the 'alternative' star-potential of their youth. S+H is supplying more Pea-Light on black cloth, approximately 50m of which is wrapping the set and custom silver ruched drapes have been produced to mask the three set arches.
Also part of the package is a glittery 12m wide by 5m deep silver lame Austrian drape that covers one of two arches, and three sets of silver lame legs and borders. The show runs until February, culminating in a live final.
Multiple Grammy Award-winning singer and legendary performer Bette Midler recorded her first-ever UK television special, Bette Midler: One Night Only at London Studios, for which S+H supplied a 45m wide by 6m high length of ShowLED Chameleon starcloth for the back of the stage and set, and wrapping around behind the audience. The designer was Dominic Tolfts.
Another show for the same designer is A Christmas Cracker With Bradley Walsh, which will be filmed at Hammersmith Eventim Apollo, London, in mid-December with Chameleon starcloth as a backdrop and legs.
This year's annual BBC Children In Need telethon raised a record £32m for the charity and for the fifth consecutive year, S+H was involved in providing a 54 x 6m of Animation low res video cloth for the main studio in Elstree, where the action was hosted by Terry Wogan. The set was designed by Dominic Tolfts.
Says S+H's Terry Murtha: "We are very proud to have been involved in supplying such a fantastic show for such a great cause. It was also great to be working with Dominic again and see the hugely dynamic and creative ways in which he uses draping, 'softs' and lighting effects."
(Jim Evans)
